Friday, March 07, 2008

The BreakdownThe only major question that needed to be answered in this Friday bracket was whether Arizona State would hold on to its spot in the field after losing at Oregon. We considered the Ducks and St. Joseph’s as replacements, but in the end we stuck with the Sun Devils. We think that Arizona will win at Oregon on Saturday, which would give the Ducks 10 conference losses and burst their bubble. The bigger debate was ASU vs. St. Joseph’s, and we almost went with the Hawks, but we couldn’t get over the fact that even with their win over Xavier last night, their resume is still pretty unattractive. They have no OOC resume and their only other Top 50 wins are against a UMass team that is clinging to a bid in its own right at the moment. To get in, St. Joe’s needs to win at Dayton Saturday and get the three seed in the A-10 tournament, avoiding Xavier until the final. A berth and the final and they’re almost certainly in, but they’re not there yet.

A couple more tidbits:

Villanova’s game at Providence Saturday got a whole lot more interesting after the Friars’ upset of UConn on Thursday night…

Ohio State is looking a lot better after beating Purdue, but the fact that they have to beat Michigan State twice in a row coming up makes it impossible to put them in yet…

Look out for Mississippi…

Even if Virginia Tech wins at Clemson Sunday, they still aren’t assured a bid. They have a very good chance of facing Maryland in their first ACC tourney game, which would be an elimination game for both…

Syracuse has a chance to triple its Top 50 win total in the next week (from 1 to 3) if it can beat Marquette and win its first round Big East tourney game. If they do that, and then lose to a Georgetown or Louisville in the next round, they would be a very tough call at 20-13 and essentially 10-10 in conference. Will the committee help out a team it screwed over last year? We’ll see...

*Note: Our next bracket will be released on Monday. It will be updated daily next week leading up to Selection Sunday.

The defense was incredible. On one play alone HIbbert, all 7-2 of him, collapsed to double team one Cardinal just outside the key, slid over to guard the player on the baseline to whom the ball was passed, and then spun, reversed court took a step or two going under the basket and blocked a dunk on the other side, all within about 2 seconds. That play alone is probably worth about $1 million and a draft slot or two up for him. Louisville was so quick. Serious love for the Louisville D. This was a "see-it-to-believe-it" game.

One thing I worry about though for both of these teams is that this was a true Big East game -- no such thing as a foul unless you are cleaning teeth up off the floor. I worry that in the NCAAs any of the top Big East teams could be in real trouble if some ref starts blowing the whistle every time someone comes within 2 feet of another player. Can the Big East teams turn off the physical style of that league in time to not get railroaded in the Tourney?

I feel as if the ACC and the Big 12 are going to be five bid leagues this year. I don't think they will be able to get a sixth team unless a sixth team makes a solid run through their conference tournament.

I'm not sure why you would put Villanova over Syracuse. SU's overall body of work is better.

OK, can we FINALLY get Maryland out of there? Oh, and take V Tech (with its only 2 good wins being over Maryland) with it. Maryland loses a "must have" game by double digits to one of the worst teams in the ACC. They need to be out. They are crying desperately to be removed. Please help put them out of their misery.

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